Notice Me
by Dawn Bently
Summary: Lily Potter, the youngest in the family, struggles to find her place, with the help of Scorpius Malfoy she might start to be noticed...


"This spot taken?"

She peered up slowly, her face half hidden behind the Transfiguration book she was reading, but she lowered it when she found herself peering into the silver eyes of Scorpius Malfoy. For a moment she just stared at him until he narrowed his eyes and stepped forward. "Lily?"

"No," She finally answered, her voice soft, almost inaudible. Scorpius sent her an odd look before he sat across from her and set his bag on the table. Slowly, Lily turned back to her book, but could not shake the feeling of Scorpius' eyes still glued to her. When she peered over the top of her book, she found her suspicions to be hollow since Scorpius had quickly started to work on his own studies. Turning back to the book, she forced her eyes to read the words. Slowly, she set the book on the table and adjusted her position before she leaned over the table to continue reading. As she reached up to push a strand of her red hair behind her ear, she looked at Scorpius once more.

"Are you so unaccustomed to company that you cannot help but stare?" Scorpius asked. His voice was not harsh, but instead carried a note of amusement. That same amusement was written across his face and glinted in his eyes as he peered up at the blushing girl across from him.

"What are you talking about?" She replied. Her voice wasn't nearly as smooth as Rose Weasley's was, and she certainly did not carry the confidence Albus carried by the bucket load. In fact, she was very little like her family, but Scorpius found it rather enduring, and even a little cute.

"Oh, nothing." Scorpius answered as he dropped his quill and leaned over the table as well. "Just your little side glances this way."

"I was not staring." Lily replied, the color of her cheeks starting to match the red of her hair. It only intensified when Scorpius grinned at her. "Shouldn't you be with Albus?" She asked, hoping the change in subject would stop his stares.

"I have to study like the rest of the school. End of the year exams are coming, I'm sure you remember. And the entire library is full. Except here. Why's that, Lily?" He said her name again but couldn't tell that she had paid more attention to it than he realized.

"I don't know, Scorpius." Lily replied as she leaned back in her seat and lifted her book once more.

"Isn't that book for sixth years? Ambitious are we?" Scorpius asked and Lily peered at him once more. From behind her book, the shy girl responded.

"Professor McGonagall is moving me up another year." She answered slowly, unsure of how Scorpius would respond.

"Another?"

"Next year, I'll be taking the seventh year classes." Lily's voice fell quiet, but even over the soft noises of the library, Scorpius had heard her.

"I didn't even know you were taking fifth year classes."

"I never told anyone." Lily set the book on the table as she moved forward in her seat.

"Not even your parents? That's quite the accomplishment."

"My mother would say something about Rose excelling at all her subjects, instead of just one or two."

For a moment it fell silent as Scorpius watched the shy girl. Her black robes fell loosely over her small frame and her red hair fell in what appeared to be a mess, but Scorpius had a feeling Lily had some form of organization to her own chaos.

"And your father?"

"He wants me to try out for the Quidditch team."

"You'd be playing against your brother."

"I don't like flying."

Scorpius only smiled at her. It wasn't a new look across the Malfoy's face, but it was rare. Lily had seen it on a few occasions when Scorpius joined the family for little things. As Albus' closest friend, the Potter doors were opened for the Malfoy boy, but Lily could always feel the bitter line her parents had drawn around him. Certain things were acceptable, others, like his father, were not.

"What do you like?" Scorpius asked but Lily stared at him stunned. She couldn't remember the last time she'd ever been asked that question.

"I like Charms and Transfiguration."

"Is that all?" Scorpius chuckled, and Lily finally smiled.

"I like it when there's a moment when it's not about how I could be like Rose, or be like James or Albus."

"I'm sure your moment will come, Lily Potter."

**X**

A summer later, she has been fifteen and he was seventeen. They hadn't even reached Hogwarts when he saw it. Saw her. The new her. As he watched her walk through the platform, he noticed the lingering stares she was receiving from the silly boys around her, but more importantly, he noticed how much she enjoyed her new found attention. But the curves her body found over the summer had not been what caught his eye. No, it had been the black that replaced her trademark red curls. Lily Potter, it seemed, did not favor her Weasley genes. From a third party perspective, it might seem as though she were simply clinging to her father's family, but Scorpius knew better than that. Then, as Lily turned to face her mother, he saw the bright green streaks in her hair. They weren't obvious, but they certainly were there beneath the top layer of her black locks.

Smirking to himself, Scorpius blocked out the loud obnoxious tone of his mother's voice, but turned when his father called for him. "Lily Potter?" Draco Malfoy rose an eyebrow as he stared at his son, who at seventeen matched his father's height. "You best keep that one under your hat before her father hears about it."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." Scorpius' voice was smooth as he responded but Draco's lips pulled up into a half smirk as his silver eyes narrowed.

"I'm talking about the girl with the Slytherin hair."

The two men shared a laugh and an embrace before Scorpius turned and took a few steps away from his parents. He stepped onto the train, but not before he glanced back once more at Lily who was also heading towards the train with her cousins and brother. He wouldn't see her again until they reached Hogwarts, but by that time, Lily found herself in the company of some number of silly little boys, in Scorpius' opinion. Instead of watching her, Scorpius turned back to the dinner spread across the Slytherin table before him.

"Did you see it?" Albus asked from across the table and Scorpius turned to his fellow Slytherin.

"See what?"

"My sister."

"The hair?" Scorpius asked and Albus laughed before he took a sip from his goblet. "When did she do that?"

"In the middle of the summer. Mum can't figure out how she used magic without the Ministry finding out, and thinks she snuck off to a muggle hair salon to get it done. Dad laughed and said he liked it, then reminded Mum that Charms and Transfiguration are Lily's best subjects. And he used to use a lot of magic outside of school too. Apparently it can be done." Albus rambled and Scorpius was only half listening as he slowly ate from his plate.

"Either way, they don't even know why she did it."

"It's because she doesn't want to be Lily Potter." Scorpius replied too quickly, and far too sure of himself. Half hoping Albus had not heard the statement over the sound of his fork against the plate, Scorpius slowly peered up, but found Albus' piercing green eyes narrowed at him.

"Care to explain that one?"

Scorpius sighed as he dropped his fork and stared at Albus. "I only mean that she's the youngest of basically the entire family. She's got all your cousins, and you had what? Two Head Girls, a Head Boy, you're Quidditch Captain, James was the most likeable troublemaker of the century, and Rose is smarter than half the professors teaching here."

"I'm still following." Albus urged Scorpius to continue, but he knew where he was going.

"She just doesn't want to be a Potter or a Weasley. She wants to be Lily." Scorpius said simply before he lifted his fork once more. He took a bite before he looked up at Albus once more. "And apparently, Lily has black hair with green in it." The two laughed as they continued to eat.

"What makes you think that?" Albus asked curious and Scorpius looked up at him before he shrugged.

"I talked to her once last year."

"I can't imagine she said much." Albus commented on the shy behavior Lily used to exhibit before the drastic changes she seemed to have gone through over the course of one summer.

"She didn't for a while." Scorpius laughed. "But eventually she started talking. Just because she's quiet doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to say. She's jealous of you and Rose and James."

"She said that?" Albus questioned but Scorpius shook his head.

"Well, no. Not outright, but it was painfully clear that she struggled to find her own place. It seems she's having no problem with that anymore." Scorpius said as he looked past Albus to see Lily seated between a few friends. Only Albus saw, however, were a bunch of boys attempting to woo his baby sister.

**X**

"Come into your own, did you?" Scorpius' voice pulled Lily from her book as she stared up at him. She was seated in the same far corner of the library, and he stood in the same spot as when he approached her the school year before. Instead of the shy, quiet girl he remembered, he found a confident Lily who leaned forward in her chair as she marked her page and set the book to the side. Motioning to the chair across from her, she invited him to join her.

"Notice me, did you?"

"It was hard not to, Lily." Scorpius answered as he pulled the chair out and sat across from her. "You're hair, for one."

"And here I thought my maturing body was what had gotten everyone's attention."

Scorpius rose an eyebrow at the straightforward young woman before him. She certainly was not the same. "Well, perhaps that is the case for all those silly little boys fawning over you at dinner and on the train."

"But not you?"

"Would you like to know what made me notice you?"

"Other than being Albus' little sister in the background? Yes, I would."

"You were cute and shy and quiet. And had red hair that matched your face whenever you blushed."

Lily narrowed her eyes at Scorpius, but he still noticed the faint blush across her cheeks. "I meant this year."

"Ah," Scorpius leaned back in his chair, his eyes still staring into hers. "What made me notice you this year would be your newfound support of the Slytherin House."

Lily had started to laugh as she reached back and pulled her hair over her shoulder. "I wanted a color that would make my mother scream." Scorpius laughed with her as he tossed his bag onto the table, but did not bother to pull his books out.

"I would think she's supportive of your brother."

"She is, but I think she secretly hates that he's in Slytherin." Lily replied. "She always says he's my father's son, and that I was her daughter."

"What prompted the change?"

"This guy I knew told me that I would find my moment."

Scorpius laughed as he shook his head. "I believe it was that your moment would come. Not that you should seek out this moment."

"Either way." Lily shrugged as she leaned back in her chair, a half smirk across her lips. Scorpius could only laugh as he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I think your brother is concerned for you."

"Why's that?"

"I haven't the slightest of ideas. Perhaps he thinks you're losing it or something."

"You're the only one I've told." Lily responded. Scorpius eyed her for a moment, and they both leaned forward, their forearms on the desk. "I mean, my friends sort of always knew, but you were the only one I ever really talked to about everything. About Rose and Al and James."

"Why me?"

"I don't know." Lily laughed as she answered truthfully, her eyes shining as she stared into the silver eyes across from her. "Maybe because everyone else would've heard but you were actually listening."

For a moment Scorpius remained silent as he stared back at Lily, until his thin lips parted and he finally responded. "Is it a girl thing that hearing and listening are two different things?"

Lily laughed loud enough to catch the attention of the librarian, who had quickly come to quiet the pair. Scorpius grinned to himself as he watched Lily stare back at him. "You know what I mean, Scorpius."

He drew in a deep breath as he slowly nodded. "I have some vague idea."

**X**

Scorpius and Albus sat in the front row of their Transfiguration class, but were at two different desks, separated by one of the two rows. As they spoke to one another, the room grew quiet and soon the two quieted as well. Turning forward, Professor McGonagall, peered at them, but it was not the sharp glare they had gotten more than enough times during their seven years. Before she began her lecture, however, the door in the back of the classroom opened once more, but Scorpius did not look back.

"Miss Potter." Professor McGonagall's voice was lower from age but she was still as sharp as ever. "You'll be paired with Mr. Malfoy."

"Lily?" Albus turned to his sister who walked passed him before peering down at Scorpius. "This is a seventh year, Slytherin class."

"My schedule was full, not that it is any of your concern." Lily responded, caring little that the entire class could hear. Albus only gaped at his younger sister as she took her seat beside Scorpius, the two grinning at one another as though they shared some secret.

The class continued with Albus' side glances to his younger sister every so often. He was amazed at how well she was doing, considering she was taking a class for seventh years, and not fifth years. Had his pride not gotten in the way, he would have admitted that she was even better than he, and seemed to match up perfectly with Scorpius. It was odd, watching the way they worked together. They were silent, said almost nothing, but moved around one another as though they'd worked together for years, or as if they could read each other's minds. When he moved, she moved. When he leaned over the desk to retrieve something, she leaned back, and vice versa.

Albus could only stare and wonder what had happened to his shy little sister. The girl who could hardly have a conversation with anyone who wasn't a sibling or cousin. The girl who had red hair and blue eyes. This girl, now, had black hair and seemed to support the Slytherin House more than her own. She was opinionate, and bold. Her eyes shined in a way they never had before. It was almost as though Lily had somehow become alive over one summer, and Scorpius was certainly noticing.

"Are you dating my sister?" Albus demanded, though his voice was low, as Scorpius and Albus gathered their things after the class.

"What?" Scorpius turned to Albus, confusion across his face.

"Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall called and Albus slowly turned. Scorpius turned back to his things. "I noticed you were rather distracted by your sister's presence. If it continues to be a problem, I may have to switch you into another class."

"Switch her. She's the one who's in the wrong class."

"She's performing better than you, Mr. Potter."

Albus held back his words as he stared up at the graying woman. "Yes, Professor." He mumbled before he turned back to Scorpius. "Are you?" He asked as the two walked down the row towards the door.

"No," Scorpius answered, rolling his eyes. "Have you not seen her at all, Albus? She's got nearly every guy in the school fawning over her."

"Including you?"

"No." Scorpius groaned as they continued down the corridor. "Why?"

"You seemed pretty comfortable around her, is all."

"Are you kidding me?" Scorpius stopped walking as he stared directly at Albus. Albus stopped as well and turned back. "You're going to act like some over protective brother?"

"I am her brother." Albus defended herself and Scorpius shook his head.

"You saw how well she did at Transfiguration. If you go over there and start telling her how to run her life, you'd better hope she doesn't transform you or some part of you into something unpleasant."

"She wouldn't."

"Maybe the old Lily wouldn't have." Scorpius responded as he continued walking and after a moment, Albus followed.

"She's fifteen!"

"How old were you when you started your romantic conquests?" Scorpius replied.

"Fourteen."

"Well, alright." Scorpius laughed as they entered the Great Hall and found seats at the Slytherin table.

"That's different." Albus plopped on to the seat beside Scorpius, who rolled his eyes.

"You're going to lose a very important body part, if you continue to act in this manner." Scorpius warned as he turned to Albus. "Lily, this new black-haired Lily, simply won't have you hovering over her as though it is your right to chose who she can and cannot date."

"Date?" Albus repeated. "She's dating?"

Scorpius' mouth fell open as he stared at Albus, completely incapable of finding any words at all to say. He was only vaguely aware of somebody sitting across from him, but he quickly turned when he saw Lily's bag on the table. "What are you doing here?" Scorpius asked curiously as he watched her. Out of the corner of his eyes, he could see the quiet commotion the Gryffindor's presence had caused at the Slytherin table.

"I wanted to know if you wanted to help me study tonight. I've got a few tests coming up."

"Yeah, I'd-"

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Albus demanded and Scorpius turned to him.

"Are you out of you mind?" Scorpius asked, but the sound of Lily's laughter had surprised him. Turning to her, he watched her eyes shift from her brother to himself before they settled on Albus.

"Why?" Lily replied as she leaned over the table, in a very aggressive manner. "Are you under the impression you could stop me, anyway?" Albus stared at her and Scorpius chuckled and she turned back to him. "After dinner, library. Same table."

"Alright." Scorpius nodded and Lily nodded as well before she picked up her bag and walked away.

**X**

Scorpius approached the table and sat, but Lily remained quiet. He rose an eyebrow as he read the cover of the book she was reading, but she didn't notice until she peered over the top at him. "What?"

"I think that book belongs in the Restricted Section." Scorpius said quietly, and Lily grinned.

"Perhaps my father should keep better protection spells on his belongings, particularly, the invisibility cloak."

Scorpius laughed as he stared across the table at Lily. "Your brother is concerned with your male attention."

"Is he now? Let him fret about it."

"He made me promise that I would tell you that all boys are stupid and that you should be locked away from all male contact until you're forty five."

"Well, you said it. It changed nothing."

"He thinks we're dating."

Lily only smiled as she stared at Scorpius. He narrowed his eyes at her until she lifted her book once more and continued to read. "Nothing to say about that one?" Scorpius laughed and Lily moved her book to the side and peered at Scorpius.

"I used to be jealous of Rose."

"I know. You told me."

"No. Not about school." Lily laughed as she tossed the book to the side and leaned over the table. "About you."

"I'm not following."

"You used to be friends. A few years ago. I thought you two were together."

"We were." Scorpius replied, and Lily's eyes widened. "For a very brief period of time, but she ended it because she didn't want the family to attack or kill me."

"Well, I'm not entirely sure if I should be telling you this, but in the spirit of becoming a more forward person, I've always had this little girl crush on you. Ever since I saw you on the platform when I was nine and Rose got to go to school with you instead of me. I thought you so perfect. You didn't have a hair out of place, your shirt was buttoned up all the way to the top, every tucked in." Lily laughed as she leaned over the table, her eyes narrowed as she stared at Scorpius. She'd been expecting a response, but he remained still, as he listened intently. "And then a year went by and I saw you again, but I still could not go to Hogwarts, and you just as perfect the second time around. And then finally it was my turn and we got to Hogwarts, and I saw you in the corridor with Albus and Rose. You were not perfect at all." Lily laughed and Scorpius finally laughed as well.

"You're hair was a mess, your robe was discarded on the ground, your shirt pulled out and unbuttoned, tie was loose around your neck. You looked like a mess. You made Albus look put together." Lily laughed as she stared at Scorpius who nodded along.

"Was that when it ended?"

"I liked you even more." Lily admitted and Scorpius smiled as he leaned over the table, his hands close enough for Lily to reach out and touch.

"Did it ever end?"

"I won't tell you that." Lily replied as she withdrew her hands from the table and leaned back in her chair. Scorpius remained leaning over the table as his eyes narrowed at her. Silence fell around them but it was not the uncomfortable silence most dreaded. It was a companionable silence as the two stared one another down, sizing each other up, so to speak.

"You don't really need help studying do you?" Scorpius asked and Lily let out a not-so-innocent giggle. "Well, if we're not going to study, perhaps we should go somewhere else."

"Anywhere in particular?"

"I was under the impression you had secret hide outs throughout the castle."

Lily's lips pulled into something close to a smirk as she gathered her things from the table and rose to her feet. Scorpius followed her out of the library and side by side, the two walked through the almost empty corridors of Hogwarts in silence. For a while, Scorpius knew the hallways she lead him down, until they turned a corner he had never bothered the venture down before. Following close behind, he kept a careful watch of their surroundings, despite Lily's confidence in their privacy. After a few more turns, Lily pulled on a door and lead the way into a room. Scorpius followed and closed the door behind him, before he looked at their surroundings.

"I didn't even know this was here." Scorpius commented as Lily flicked her wand around until the room was well lit by the torches mounted on the walls. The center of the room was furnished with couches and a small table while the far wall was lines with desks. In a corner double doors were closed and appeared to be locked. "What's behind there?"

Lily dropped her bags on the closest table before she turned to him, the same half smirk still plastered across her lips. She reached out and wrapped her small fingers around his wrist before she pulled in the direction of the two doors. Dropping his stuff along the way, Scorpius followed then paused as she released his wrist and reached out to pull the lock off of the door. With both hands she opened the doors to reveal a small balcony over looking the back side of the castle.

"How often do you come here?" Scorpius asked as he stepped out onto the balcony and leaned over the railing so that his forearms rested on the top. Lily took the space beside him and the two simply stared out, leaving only the stars and the moon to light the space around them.

"Whenever I can." Lily answered. "There's really no where else to go here. It's sort of constricting to just sit around in the castle all day. And I never really made friends. Not close ones."

"So how many people know about this place?"

"Just a few." Lily answered. "It was my first year when a group of us were just wandering around and we kind of stumbled into here. Since then, some of them have left school, graduated, or we've grown apart, but we had promised not to tell anyone else about this place."

"Then why bring me?" Scorpius asked as he turned to peer down at Lily. He had expected a blush to pass across her cheeks, but it never came. Instead she simply shrugged as she looked up at him again. She might've been acting the way the new Lily had been, but there was something in her eyes and in her voice. Scorpius knew Lily had not really changed as much as everybody thought. The Lily standing before him was the same shy Lily from years ago, but she was in her element and she was comfortable.

"The whole school is talking you know." Scorpius commented as he turned away from her, but out of the corner of his eyes he could see her still watching him. "It seems nobody can adjust to this new Lily persona you've created around yourself."

"Persona? Around me? Do you think this isn't actually me?" Lily questioned and Scorpius turned to her once more.

"I think that to some degree it is you, but that somewhere inside of you, you're still just as shy and quiet as you were before."

"Really?" Lily asked and Scorpius nodded.

"But you've certainly succeeded."

"In what?"

"In making people notice you, who would not have noticed you, otherwise." Scorpius answered and Lily narrowed his eyes at him.

"Like who, exactly?"

"Like all those stupid boys who have been following you around."

"And you?" Lily responded, but Scorpius rose an eyebrow at her.

"Don't be ridiculous, Lily. Anybody who noticed you before, certainly still notices you now."


End file.
